


Purpureus

by tatersalad5001



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: (i think this takes place in the third lunar interlude?), (it's magic tutoring time everyone), (like partway through with taako teaching magic to my boy and yours), Gen, POV Second Person, Reunion Tour Spoilers, Stolen Century Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-04 13:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11555721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatersalad5001/pseuds/tatersalad5001
Summary: The magic lessons continue. After seeing Angus show an interest in magic, Taako works on spells with him and the two slowly bond. However, an unseen, unknown audience watches the whole thing. Someone wearing a red robe inside an umbrella reflects on the past and observes the present. A lot has changed, and yet, it's all becoming so familiar.





	Purpureus

Your name is Lup.

You're a high elf, skilled with magic. You were a member of an expedition gone wrong, and ended up spending one hundred years trying to learn how to stop the apocalypse. You spent so long searching, studying, theorizing, trying. You, along with the love of your life, became a lich in order to ensure the survival of your teammates, your friends, your family. But this did not change you. You are still you. You hoped beyond hope that your team's journey was finally over, that you finally stopped the apocalypse. 

Your name is Lup.

You grew up with nothing, with no one other than your twin brother. Your learned younger than you should have how to take care of yourselves. You relied on each other and no one else, never anyone else. After a century of living, of running, of hiding, there were only six people you could really trust. You could never trust anyone else. But in a moment of doubt, a moment of weakness, you let your guard down. You let your guard down and you were betrayed, defeated, and absorbed into a weapon of your own creation. You were trapped, and had to fight every day to keep some form of consciousness. You could see and hear what was going on around your weapon, but some days this struggle was harder than others. You fought and held on. 

Your name is Lup. Your name is Lup. Your name is Lup.

Some days it was easier to hold on than others. In time, your weapon was found and recovered by your very own twin brother Taako, and just knowing he was there and you were with him made it so much easier. Yet sometimes his presence made it that much harder, too. Compared to a century, you hadn't been separated all that long, but it was unbelievable how much he had changed. Not his personality, but it was the little things. He held Magnus and Merle at an arm's length, as if they were barely more than strangers, and there was so much he didn't recognize. Your umbrastaff, Lucretia, Davenport, the relics you all had made. You had a feeling he couldn't remember you, either.

Something must have happened. You were sure of it. Something must have made him forget all that time you spent on your journey. Magnus and Merle didn't seem remember any of it either, and no one seemed to recognize each other. You didn't know what it was. You didn't have the luxury of thinking about it, since it was all you could do to just stay here in the present. So that's what you did. You held on, you stayed in each moment as it came, and you waited patiently until Taako would remember and realize you were there.

Your name is Lup. You aren't going anywhere. You're here and you will fight with and for your brother for as long as you can.

Right now, here is the Bureau of Balance mess hall. Taako brought the umbrastaff with him, which wasn't unusual, to eat a small lunch. Nothing big or grandiose, just some vegetable soup. Not for the first time, you're struck by how...different this is. This is  _Taako_ you're looking at. Taako, who used to love cooking, used to love finding ways to make cooking a more grandiose and entertaining affair. Taako, who would explore a new dimension to find meals that inspired him to take his cooking to the next level. And he spent most of his days just grabbing meals out of the mess hall. Since he found your umbrastaff, you've rarely seen him cook, and have never seen him experiment with it in any way. The most you've been able to gather with your wavering senses is that he had some kind of cooking incident in the (relatively) recent past. But what kind of incident?

What happened to Taako after you were trapped here?

"Hello, sir," a small voice pipes up, shifting your attention. Angus McDonald has sat down in a chair across from Taako with a meal of his own. 

"Hey there, little man," Taako greets him. "How's your magic coming?"

It's only been a few days since Taako started teaching magic to Angus. Angus McDonald, boy detective, was a cute little guy. Smart, too. He'd impressed you back on the Rockport Limited with how fast he'd figured out every mystery that day, not that you could tell him. It was really sweet of Taako to teach the kid magic. You haven't really seen this side of him since he found you again. 

"Well, sir, I've been practicing, but it's not great," Angus explains. He stares down at his food as he talks. "You probably don't want to see me cast Mage Hand again. It's not much better than last time."

"No, I probably don't," Taako agrees. Angus' attention is fixed on his food, so Taako grabs his knife and hides it under the table. Angus doesn't notice.

You're watching this all with a grin. 

Angus keeps talking. "But I have been practicing, sir! And I've been reading about spells, too. There's this one..." Your senses fade out for a few seconds. You can't see or hear anything as you're abruptly struggling just to stay you, but then it all comes back again and you're still here. Angus is still talking. "...and it's not much better than my Mage Hand, but I could still show you if you want, sir."

"Sure thing, kiddo. Show me what you got," Taako says. 

Angus reaches for something next to his plate, then sighs. "Can I have my knife back please?"

"Sure thing, kiddo." Taako smirks as he hands the knife back over to Angus.

Angus takes back the knife in both hands. He frowns and stares down at the knife. As he concentrates, the knife begins to emit a soft, lavender glow. The knife glows dimly for about a second, and then disappears.

The kid's just staring down at his plate, but however he's seeing it, you definitely don't see it the same way. He's got a good start, just like when he was trying to cast Mage Hand. He just needs practice. He'll be a brilliant wizard some day. 

You walk over to one of the wands that the umbrastaff has absorbed and cast Light, the same spell. The wand grows brilliantly with a dark shade of purple. You've been doing magic for a long time, longer than most would be able to, but several decades ago you weren't much better than Angus. He's got time. He'll be great.

"It's not much better than my Mage Hand," Angus repeats. "I can get it to start, but then it won't...stay around. And with Mage Hand, I still can't form all the fingers, just one or two. I don't think I'm getting it, sir. I should be able to do better than this."

"Hey, hey, don't be so hard on yourself, Agnes." Taako reaches over and lightly pats his shoulder, and Angus looks up. "You've got a good start. This is all about bringing out the magic that's already inside you. And you're doing that. You can make things light glow and form like half a hand. That's great!"

"Are you sure?" Angus asks, his voice wavering a bit. "This is basic magic. It shouldn't be that hard."

"You're still starting out, kiddo, I gave you your first lesson a couple of days ago," Taako reminds him. "You're not going to be the master wizard or whatever in a day. You can get the spells started, and that's great for where you're at! Getting the spells to last longer comes with time and practice, and that's what we're gonna do. You just gotta keep practicing, you'll get better."

"You really think so, sir?"

"I wouldn't say it if it weren't true," Taako assures him.

Angus looks like he believes that statement about as much as you do, but he's beaming regardless. "Thank you, sir!"

"Yeah, whatever." Taako shrugs and stirs his spoon in his soup. "Just keep practicing. I'll be here for awhile if you want to start now."

You watch as Angus continues trying to cast spells, mostly Mage Hand. Taako visibly pays more attention to his soup than anything, but gives Angus plenty of pointers along the way. You can tell, he cares more than he seems to want to let on. He seems like he's having a lot of fun teaching this kid. And as you watch, you smile.

After these past few months of seeing how much your brother has changed, he's finally starting to act a bit like his old self. He's finally starting to let people in again.

**Author's Note:**

> so like, i dunno man. this wanted to be written. it didn't know where to start or where to end but it wanted to be written. so i've written it. the thing's written. take it.
> 
> listen. i don't know much. i don't know about dnd. i don't know much about your high fantasy. i don't know how your spells work man. i'm just winging it. i'm just throwing it out there. but i feel like that's kind of in the adventure zone spirit anyway? so i don't mind all that much. it's fine.
> 
> i just really wanted to see lup's perspective on taako getting closer to angus mcdonald the world's greatest detective by teaching the boy magic. i think she'd enjoy it. i think it'd make her happy. she seems to like the kid. she feels bad about his cookies. i think she would enjoy this and i want her to so i'm letting her enjoy it and i hope you enjoy her enjoying things too. i love lup


End file.
